Kate Furbish

Photograph

-

Pejepscot History Center

Name/Title

Kate Furbish

Entry/Object ID

OH.1542.4.c

Description

A black and white stereo view of botanist Kate Furbish sitting before an easel with her paintbrush raised. She uses the natural light coming from her two bedroom windows to illuminate the flora she is working on completing. One easel seems to already have a finished piece, while she continues to work on the piece to the left. Photo not dated.

Collection

Found On-hand

Lexicon

Search Terms

Cumberland Street, Streets - Brunswick, Houses - Brunswick

Exhibitions

Exhibition

Labor of Love: Creating Art and Community

Notes

Botanist Catherine “Kate” Furbish (1834-1931) devoted over 60 years of her life to collecting, classifying, and illustrating the native flora of Maine. Furbish studied drawing, painting, and French literature in Portland, Boston, and Paris. She is pictured here painting flora on an easel in front of her bedroom window. She collected over 1,300 plants and pressings, and compiled them in a book donated to Bowdoin College. Furbish helped to found the Josselyn Botanical Society of Maine in 1895, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the knowledge of Maine plants and teaching others about our natural flora. She is still praised among professional naturalists, while her memory is used to place importance in plant-based sciences, especially for women. Women in sciences still face immense barriers and challenges, yet with trailblazers like Furbish and the ever-growing community they are entering the field in never-before-seen numbers.